Jordan, near Petra (traditional site: Jebel Harun; probable identification, not certain)

Mount Hor

Meaning
The name Hor is tied to a Hebrew root meaning "mountain," which makes the expression "Mount Hor" almost redundant, something like "the mountain of the mountain." The Bible records it as the place where Aaron, Israel's first high priest, died and passed the office to his son Eleazar.
About the place

Mount Hor lies on the border of Edom, at the final stretch of Israel’s long wilderness journey, after the people had left Kadesh.

It was there that Aaron, brother of Moses and Israel’s first high priest, died. God commanded Moses to take Aaron and his son Eleazar up the mountain, remove Aaron’s priestly garments, and put them on Eleazar, in front of the whole community.

Aaron died there for the same reason that kept Moses from entering Canaan: disobedience at the waters of Meribah. Mount Hor is a reminder that not even the leaders closest to God escape being held accountable.

At the same time, the transfer of the priesthood to Eleazar shows that God’s work continues beyond any one person’s life. Israel mourned Aaron for thirty days, but the priestly office remained secure, passed from father to son.

Key verses

Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain,

Numbers 20:28

At the Lord’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.

Numbers 33:38

What happened here

Aaron's death and the transfer of the priesthood

At the summit of Mount Hor, Moses removed Aaron's priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron died there, and the whole community of Israel mourned him for thirty days.

Numbers 20:22-29
People linked to this place
A

Aaron

Died here after handing over the priesthood

M

Moses

Climbed the mountain at God's command

E

Eleazar

Received the priesthood from his father

Books where it appears

Numbers

tells of Aaron's death on Mount Hor and Eleazar's succession

Deuteronomy

Moses recalls Aaron's death on Mount Hor

The place today
The place today

Today tradition identifies Mount Hor with Jebel Harun, a peak near Petra in Jordan. A small shrine from the Mamluk period stands at the summit, and ruins of a Byzantine monastery dedicated to Aaron remain on its slopes.

This identification is only probable: the biblical text places Mount Hor on Edom's border, whereas Jebel Harun lies farther inside the region, leading some scholars to propose another nearby mountain. The exact location remains uncertain.

Jordan today has a small evangelical presence. Let us pray for these people, that they may know the God who walked with Israel to the end of the wilderness.

Pray for this nation today: Jordânia

Other places

Biblical place

Cana